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NFC

– MVP candidate Matt Ryan is on pace for 43 touchdown passes with only five interceptions for Atlanta. Only two QBs in NFL history have finished a season with at least 40 TD passes and fewer than 10 picks – Tom Brady (50 and eight in 2007) and Aaron Rodgers (45 and six last season).

– Speaking of the Falcons, their number crunchers figured out that they scored more points (193) than anyone else the last five years on their first possessions of games. The Rams are the worst at 73, and laid-back West Coasters San Francisco (83) and Oakland (85) are second- and fourth-worst.

– The Redskins lead the league with 99 points, but Mike Shanahan would be wise to expose quarterback Robert Griffin III a little less on running plays. The Washington Times reports that Griffin, who underwent (and passed) a concussion test Sunday, was knocked to the ground 28 times in the game.

– Rodgers hopes the Saints blitz Sunday. New Orleans has blitzed on 28 pass attempts, and opponents have completed 22 of those passes (a league-high 78.6 percent) for three touchdowns with zero interceptions.

– Giants coach Tom Coughlin said running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who missed last week’s game with a neck injury, will start in Philadelphia, but that backup Andre Brown – cut eight times before emerging this season – has earned himself a larger role.

– If Packers fans were waiting for an apology from Commissioner Roger Goodell for Monday night’s theft of a win, they don’t know Goodell. The controversy is “the beauty of sports and the beauty of officiating,” he said in a conference call Thursday. It’s good to be the king.

AFC

– Fairfield’s Stevie Johnson has scored three times for the Bills this year without any excessive celebrating, after being flagged twice last year. “Stevie wants to score a touchdown on every play,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “He’s an emotional guy, and he knows he needs to play with those emotions. But he’s found a way to rein them in a little bit.”

– Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert stinks early, with no touchdowns in the first quarter in two years, but, surprisingly, he is money late. In the fourth quarter this season, he has thrown for 209 yards and two scores, for a passer rating of 122.9.

– The Texans are 35-5 under coach Gary Kubiak when rushing 30 or more times.

– Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, left, had his second career game with at least 230 rushing yards last week. Only Jim Brown, right, with three, has more.

– Reggie Wayne, 33, is glad he stuck around with the Colts. He’s been targeted a league-high 40 times this season, and his 23 catches are the fourth-most in the league. Wayne said he left “a minimum of $3 million” on the table to stay. He said he was “very, very close” to leaving. “Probably two teams Colts fans wouldn’t have liked.”

– The Patriots’ offensive line problems are taking some of the shine off tight end Rob Gronkowski. On Sunday, he stayed in to block on 29 of 41 passing attempts and was targeted just three times, catching two for 21 yards.

– The Dolphins’ Davone Bess, who grew up in Oakland, ranks 18th among undrafted players in career receptions (273). Bess, 27, needs 576 more to catch former Broncos great Rod Smith at No. 1.